Should stay independent
Delightfully understated Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has been seen praising
Twitter.
However while normally that is an indication that he is about to open
his
cheque book and buy the company, it is not true in this case. Ballmer
said the popular microblogging site Twitter, long the subject of
takeover speculation, may be better off remaining independent.
Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have already secured partnerships with
Twitter and
word on the street was that some big outfit was going to buy it out.
But Ballmer said during an appearance at a technology conference that
Microsoft's partnership with Twitter may be more valuable to the
software giant
than acquiring it would be. Ballmer said that he would hate to not have
that partnership.
"Whether we need to own the company or not I think is far less clear. As
an independent they have a lot of value and a lot of credibility, I think, with
their user community," Ballmer continued. He doubted that Twitter would have the same credibility with the user community
if they were captive to Redmond.